Flyers 4 Flames 5 OT: Extinguished

The good news? The Flyers got a point for the second straight game. The bad news? The Flyers have now lost four straight games.

The Flyers squandered a 3-1 lead and suffered a 5-4 overtime loss to the Calgary Flames on Saturday afternoon at the Wells Fargo Center. Sean Monahan led the way for Calgary, scoring three power-play goals in the second period, while Michael Frolik burried the overtime winner on a 2-on-1. Johnny Gaudreau extended his point streak to nine game with a power-play goal and a couple assists.

Highlights

First Period

It looked like it could be the Flyers’ night after Brandon Manning put a puck on net from the point and it took a favorable bounce to give the home team the 1-0 lead. It was good awareness from Manning to throw the puck on net, but ultimately the Flyers really got a lucky bounce and went up just 1:32 into the game.

Johnny Gaudreau netted the equalizer several minutes later, beating his former teammate Elliott on a clear-cut breakaway. Claude Giroux had a great chance at the other end of the ice, but the Flames were able to recover quickly to send Johnny in all alone the other way. Ivan Provorov was caught at the blueline, while Robert Hagg couldn’t catch the speedy Gaudreau.

Sean Couturier was in the right place at the right time to give the Flyers the lead on the power play 13:22 into the period. The first unit made some fantastic passes before Couturier was on the doorstep to give Philadelphia the lead.

Ivan Provorov made it 3-1 Flyers with a seeing-eye shot from the point. It was a good stick from Jori Lehtera to get the puck to Provorov after Scott Laughton won the draw. Mike Smith probably should have had this one, but Lehtera did a good job providing a screen and it was an absolute snipe from Provorov.

Second Period

The Flyers had a commanding 3-1 lead entering the third period, but it took Sean Monahan just six minutes to get his first of three on the night. Monahan got his stick on a Mark Giordano point shot to make it a one-goal game.

Nolan Patrick gave the Flyers the 4-3 lead when he showcased his sweet hands late in the period for his second career NHL goal. It was Patrick’s second game back from injury and his poise was on full display, tracking the puck down low and taking it to the backhand before gently roofing it upstairs. You could tell by his celebration he knew it was a big goal.

Monahan completed his hat trick on yet another power play not even a minute after Patrick scored. Shayne Gostisbehere was in the box for an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty after he was caught yapping at the refs. Taylor Leier had the right idea throwing himself in front of a Gaudreau shot on the penalty kill. Unfortunately, Leier was in considerable pain and couldn’t get back into the play. Gaudreau was able to walk around a helpless Leier and feed Monahan in the slot to make it 4-4.

Overtime

With no scoring in the third period, the Flyers headed to overtime for the second consecutive game. It took only 1:18 for the Flames to put the dagger in the Flyers and hand them their fourth straight loss. The Flames have been really good in overtime this season, while the Flyers have been miserable, so can’t say this is too surprising. A Shayne Gostisbehere pass fell off the stick of Claude Giroux and the Flames broke away in the other direction. It was Voracek who was caught in no man’s land on the Frolik OT winner. He didn’t know whether to attack Frolik or Mikael Backlund — who was waiting at the blueline. What should have been a 2-on-2 situation turned into a 2-on-1 real quick as Voracek was caught watching in the middle.

Missed Penalties

The refs once again seemed to play a big role in Saturday’s game. A second-period penalty call on Jake Voracek was very questionable, while the refs appeared to miss a boarding penalty on Giroux and a holding penalty on Provorov.

NHL.com Recap

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Statistics

Notes/ Takeaways

Nolan Patrick looked really good in his second game back from injury. He was fairly quiet in his return against the Jets on Thursday, but that was also because he barely saw the ice. Patrick played 13:52 on the second line Saturday afternoon and was very active, firing four shots on goal. He was also part of the team’s second power-play unit. Despite the loss, this is a very good sign for the Flyers moving forward. They badly need secondary scoring to supplement the top line and Patrick is a prime candidate to start supplying it.

Blown leads are becoming a problem for the Flyers. Known in the past for being the “Comeback Kids”, the Flyers now can’t seem to hold onto leads of their own. This marks the second straight game the Flyers have squandered a two-goal lead and lost the game. The Flyers need to find a way to play a full sixty minutes. That’s the easiest way to put it. A great period or forty minutes doesn’t win you a hockey game and the Flyers have come to learn that from their last few games.

Discipline. You can’t point the finger at the goalie when you give up three power-play goals in one period. Gostisbehere took an elbowing penalty and an unsportsmanlike conduct penalty that really cost the Flyers on Saturday. Argue the reffing all you want, but Gostisbehere has to be smarter and just refrain from yapping, especially when you’re holding onto a lead.The Flyers had killed 15 of their last 16 penalties entering Saturday and that streak came to a halt real quick against the Flames. Before the game the Flyers were 16th in the league and allowing Calgary to go 3-for-5 on the man advantage dropped them to 26th out of 31 teams at 77.8 percent. You can’t keep taking penalties and expect Elliott or the defense to bail you out.